New York, Sept 23 (IndianMuslims.info)Israeli government annouced formation of a five-member Governmental Investigative Committe to look into the Israel's political and defense establishment's decision and response during the attack with Israel.

The committe is headed by a retired justice Eliyahu Winograd. The committee's mandate is to investigate the preparedness of the security forces, the management of the fighting, and the decision-making processes. The committee will present its findings and recommendations to the prime minister and the minister of defense, and its report will be made public.

Today Human Rights Watch urged the committee to also investigate the systematic attacks on cilivilian infrastructure and killing of Lebanese civilians by Isreali forces.

In a report issued after Isreal attack on Lebanon, Human Rights Watch documented Israeli forces' systematic failure to distinguish between combatants and civilians as required by international humanitarian law. Subsequent Human Rights Watch reporting demonstrated a similar pattern in Israel's use of cluster munitions.

"Civilians suffered unnecessarily on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The Winograd committee should examine Israel's part to ensure that such needless killing is never repeated."

Human Rights Watch said the Winograd committee should investigate in particular: why so many civilian vehicles and homes were targeted in southern Lebanon despite the absence of military justification; why Israeli forces shelled parts of southern Lebanon with large numbers of cluster munitions especially in the last days of the fighting; and why certain civilian infrastructure was targeted even though the harm to civilian life outweighed any military advantage.

Human Rights Watch has called on the U.N. Security Council to authorize an international investigation into the responsibility of all parties to the war, including Hezbollah, for civilian deaths in Lebanon and northern Israel. Human Rights Watch has also criticized the Human Rights Council's resolution calling for a commission of inquiry that would focus only on Israel's abuses during the war. "Since the Lebanese government is not in a position to investigate Hezbollah's conduct, the burden falls to the international community," said Whitson.

The head of the Israeli committee, Justice Winograd, is a former president of the Tel Aviv Magistrate Court. The other committee members are law professor Ruth Gavison and political science professor Yehezkel Dror of Hebrew University, in addition to two reserve officers, Maj. Gen. Menachem Einan and Maj. Gen. Dr. Haim Nadel.

Israel's State Comptroller, Micha Lindenstrauss, has also instructed his office to examine government conduct and policies during the war. In addition, the Israeli Defense Ministry has formed a separate military panel, headed by Gen. (Res) Doron Almog, to look into preparedness issues surrounding Hezbollah's July 12 attack that captured two soldiers and killed several others. General Almog is the former head of the IDF's Southern Command, responsible for Gaza Strip operations. In September 2005, a London magistrate issued a warrant for Gen. Almog's arrest on suspicion of committing a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention in connection with IDF home demolition policies in the southern Gaza Strip. Gen. Almog avoided the warrant by not disembarking from his plane in London.

Link:

Fatal Strikes: Israel's Indiscriminate Attacks Against Civilians in Lebanon: report by Human Rights Watch